Comparative typology of English and Uzbek

1.3 Comparative vowel table

The first comparative vowel tables appeared in the 19th-century. Their aim was to prove the common origin of some two modern languages belonging to the same family. In the 1920s of the XX century Prof. D. Jones suggested a classification based on the principle of the so called «cardinal vowels». But these cardinal vowels are abstract notion and have nothing to do with the comparison of two language from the typological viewpoint.

The aim of our comparison is pedagogical. Every phoneme of the English language should be compared with the' Uzbek vowels as comparison of an unknown language phoneme with that of one's mother tongue is of great use. The aim of our comparison (does not need any universal principle) and is to underline the specific features of vowel formation in the two languages in question. The tables of English vowels (accepted in our country) are based on the principles of acad. L.V. Sherba's vowel classification, later on prof. G.P. Torsueva’s and prof. V.AVasiljev's classification.
1. According to the position of the tongue in the horizontal plane English vowels are divided into 3 groups: close, medial, and open. Each of them is subdivided into: narrow and broad.
2. According to the part of the tongue: front, – front – retracted, mixed, back advanced and back.
In comparing the English and Uzbek vowel systems one more principle should be accepted – central vowels must be divided into: l) central proper and central retracted.
Comparison shows, that:
1. the Uzbek [a] should be classified as broad open central retracted vowel
2. the neutral vowel [ə] in English was pronounced by – the English speakers examined as a broad medial, central retracted vowel.
3. the English [۸] was pronounced as an open narrow, central retracted vowel (evidently thanks to the new tendency to make it less back).
As there is ho subdivision of Uzbek vowels according to their
quantity into long and short ones there is no perceptible,
difference in their tensely or laxity. So the Uzbek Vo – .veil
phonemes are differentiated by their qualitative features.
The main philological relevant features of the Uzbek vowels phonemes are: front–central–back, according to which they may form phonological opposition: close-mid-open (сил-сел-сал – кўр–кир, кўл – кел, тор – тер etc.)
It should be kept in mind that there is a difference between the phonetic and phonological classification of phonemes. In the phonetic classification articulation arid acoustic features ane, taken into consideration. Every point of its cliJference is of-pedagogical use.
But philological classification is based on the abstract differential features of phonemes. They serve the purpose of their differentiating, and are called philolbgically relevant attributes of phonemes. They may be defined with the help of, philological opposition in some pairs of words.
Comparative analysis of the English and Uzbek vowels systems
As has been mentioned above the system of English vowel phonemes consists of monophtongs, diphthongized vowels and diphthongs. There are 21 vowel phonemes in English. They are: [i:, I, e, æ, ά, c, c, u, u, ۸, ə, ə, ei, ou, au, ci, iə, ei, uə,] There are 6 vowel phonemes in Uzbek. They are: [i, u, əie, a, o, y, y]
The main point of difference: similarly between the English monophtongs, diphthongizes vowel and Uzbek may be summed up as follows:
1. The English and Uzbek Vowel phonemes are characterized by the oral formation. There are no nasal nasalized vowels in the languages compared.
2. According to the part of the tongue in the formation of vowel phonemes there are no front–retracted, central proper for mixed) vowels in Uzbek. Resembles may be found in the pronunciation of the back vowels in English and Uzbek. The Uzbek [y] and the English [o] are back-advanced vowels. The Uzbek [o] and the English [c], also (c) are back retracted vowels. Therefore, it is comparatively easy to teach the Uzbeks pronunciation of back English vowels.
3. According to the height of the tongue in English there are vowels of ail the 6 levels. Uzbek vowels belong to the narrow varieties of the 3 levels. In Uzbek there are no vowel phonemes like the English æ, əi, ə, [æ, ə:, ə]
These vowels are difficult for the student to master; especially the neutral vowel. But never the less the neutral [ə] can be compared with Uzbek unstressed in the words like. Кетди, келди, китоб etc.
4. According to the position of the lips in the formation of vowels English vowels are rounded without protractions. Uzbek vowels [a], [ə] [a] I are more closely rounded and protruded, where as the English [æ, ά, ۸, ə, ə], are. slightly rounded and. [a], [u:] are closely rounded without protrusion.
All the front and central vowels in English and Uzbek are ungrounded. In articulating the English vowels [i:, i, e] and the Uzbek vowels [u, e (ə)], [y], the lips are neutral. In articulating the Uzbek [ə, (e)] the lips may be either neutral or spread. In teaching the Uzbeks to pronounce the rounded English vowels care should be taken not to protrude the lips.
5. Besides considerable qualitative difference there is a quantitative difference between vowel phonemes of English and Uzbek. Traditionally all English vowels are divided into slier-and long. Short – [ə, c, æ, ۸, i], long [i:, ά, c: u: ə].
But at present the quantitative features of the English vowel) phonemes have become their main property and quality musty be regarded as additional. The Uzbek vowel phonemes. may only – be differentiated their quality. Philologically there. Is quantities difference in the Uzbek vowel phonemes. They typical «middle sounds», neither long nor shorter Some-Hines English vowels, [u:] may sound like the Uzbek [o] «and when they are pronounced short. This acoustic resemblance makes it possible to compare the vowels in question v
6. The English Vowels are usually neutralized and may be substituted by [] in unstressed position. The Uzbek vowels may be used either in stressed or unstressed position. Thus there is little difference between stressed and unstressed vowels in Uzbek. It is better to pronounce the correct pronunciation of the English without trying to find any parallels in the native tongue.
The Vowels Criteria for Classification
The chapter before has examined the consonant phonemes of English from an articulator perspective. After trying to establish a general borderline between the two major classes of sounds – consonants and vowels respectively – by postulating some major articulator distinctions between them, an attempt was made to analyze English consonants in detail, discussing the distinctions among them as well as contrasting them with the corresponding sounds of Romanian.
We will remember then that if consonants are distinguished from vowels precisely on the basis of an articulator feature that all of them arguably share – a place along the speech tract where the air stream meets a major obstacle or constriction – it would be very difficult to describe vowels in the same terms as it will no longer be possible to identify a «place of articulation». Articulator criteria can be, indeed, used to classify vowels but they will be less relevant or, in any case, of a different type than in the case of consonants.
Acoustic and even auditory features on the other hand will play a much more important role in accurately describing vowels as vowels are sonorous sounds, displaying the highest levels of resonance of all speech sounds.
Vowels, like consonants, will differ in terms of quality ~ the acoustic features will differ from one vowel to another depending on the position of the articulators, but in a way which is distinct from what we have seen in the case of consonants where there is another type of interaction between the various speech organs – and in terms of quantity or duration – again in a way distinct from consonants as vowels are all sonorous, continuant sounds.
The quality of a vowel is given by the way in which the tongue – the main articulator, as in the case of consonants – is positioned in the mouth and by the activity of the lips. This position of the tongue modifies the shape of the resonating cavities above the larynx and decisively influences the quality of the resulting sound. The great mobility of the tongue and the absence of any definite place of obstruction – as in the case of consonants – accounts for the great variety of vowels that can be found in any language and for the fact that vowels rather than consonants are more intimately linked to the peculiar nature of each and every language. It will be therefore much more difficult for a student of a foreign language to acquire the correct features of the vowel system than those of the consonant system of the respective language.
Three will be then the criteria that can be used to distinguish among vowels on an Articulator’s basis: imposition of the tongue in the mouth – high or low on the vertical axis and fronted or retracted on the horizontal axis – and fast position of the lips. Many languages will also recognize a functional distinction between vowels produced by letting the air out either through the nasal cavity or through the oral one.
Tongue height. If we consider the position of the tongue in the mouth we can identify two extreme situations: one in which the body of the tongue is raised, almost touching the roof of the oral cavity and in this case we will be dealing with high or close vowels – the name clearly refers to the position of the tongue high in the mouth or close to the palate – and the opposite position when the body of the tongue is very low in the mouth leaving the cavity wide open as in the case when the doctor wants to examine our tonsils and asks us to say «ah». The vowels thus produced will be called open or low vowels since the tongue is lowered in the mouth and the oral cavity is open. If the tongue is placed in an intermediate position, raised only halfway against the palate, we shall call the vowels mid vowels. A further, more refined distinction will differentiate between two groups of mid vowels: close-mid/mid close or half-close or high-mid/mid high vowels and open-mid/ mid open or half-open or low-mid/mid low vowels.
If we consider the position of the tongue along the horizontal axis we can identify three classes of vowels: front vowels – uttered with the front part of the tongue highest, central vowels – if it is' rather the central part of the tongue that is highest, modifying the shape of the articulator and back vowels – the rear part of the tongue is involved in articulation.